Paris – France’s President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), his office said on Thursday, sparking a track and trace effort targeting European Union leaders and senior officials who met him in recent days.
“The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 today,” Macron’s office said in a statement. “This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms.”
Macron would self-isolate for the next seven days and would continue to run the country remotely. His wife Brigitte was also self-isolating.
The French leader’s office, which declined to give details of his condition or which symptoms he had, said all Macron’s trips had been cancelled, including a December 22 visit to Lebanon.
Macron attended a European summit late last week at which he met a host of EU leaders to discuss the European Union’s budget, climate change and Turkey.
While the leaders were gathering in the summit room and initially mingling with their face masks on, they take them off once they sit down to talks, although remain quite far apart at their round table.
Macron and his wife Brigitte also hosted a private dinner with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, during which he awarded him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
This week Macron had lunch with European Council President Charles Michel as well as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
Sanchez’s office said he would quarantine until December 24. An EU spokesman said Michel, would self-isolate as a precaution.
Macron was also photographed shaking hands with OECD chief Angel Gurria, who is 70.
Macron’s illness comes as negotiations between Britain and the EU over a post-Brexit deal near their crunch point, with France saying it would rather veto a bad deal than sacrifice its fishermen. (Reuters)
